Simone Inzaghi explains why Hakan Calhanoglu is not available to play for Inter against Lecce and could also be in doubt for the Atalanta match, but he has faith in Emil Audero.
It kicks off at the Stadio Via del Mare at 17.00 GMT.
The Nerazzurri have won all their competitive matches in 2024, including Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid.
“This is a dangerous fixture, Lecce are having a very good season and I think earned most of their points on home turf, so we need the utmost focus,” Inzaghi told DAZN.
Marcus Thuram, Juan Cuadrado, Stefano Sensi and Francesco Acerbi are all injured, but Calhanoglu is on the bench.
“Calhanoglu had a problem in training, he made the journey with us, but is not available to play today. We’ll see the situation tomorrow and whether he can play on Wednesday.
“With so many fixtures, we must balance out the energy and time on the field, but not the effort and focus we put into each game.”
The fixture this Wednesday will be the showdown with Atalanta, rescheduled from January so that Inter could participate in and win the Sueprcoppa Italiana in Saudi Arabia.
Yann Sommer has flu symptoms and did not make the trip, so Emil Audero makes his Serie A debut for Inter, having already featured in the Champions League and Coppa Italia.
It could make a difference to Inter’s remarkable defensive record of 15 clean sheets in 24 Serie A matches so far this season, conceding only 12 goals.
“The weather isn’t the most favourable, but Audero has over 200 Serie A games under his belt, he settled in well, played in the Champions League and Coppa Italia, so I’d been thinking of giving him his league debut for a while. This is his chance and I have no concerns.”
It is raining very heavily in Lecce this evening and there are visible puddles around the turf.
€40 million is too little to sell 27 year old Dutch International Denzel Dumfries to a rich club like Manchester United in my humble opinion. He is worth at least €10 million more